


Ocean Between Us

by TitanOfAttack



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Author Levi, Depression, Fluff, M/M, ferry boat worker eren, more tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-09-06 08:37:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8742937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TitanOfAttack/pseuds/TitanOfAttack
Summary: Eren Yeager lives on a small island, where nothing happens, like ever. He decides to apply for a job on the ferry that connects the small island to the mysterious city 'where dreams come true'.Little did he know, he'd meet Levi Ackerman and nothing would ever be the same.(Terrible at writing summaries just click, you might be suprised?)





	1. The First Wave

The cold breeze swept through his hair. He released a deep sigh as he adjusted his beanie over his numb ears. Eren Yeager was deeply conflicted on what to do with the rest of his life, so he picked a job that was seemingly made for him while he decided. Why is it perfect you ask? Being surrounded by the ocean is what Eren grew up with, living on the small island of Shiganshina, the smell, the breeze, the salty taste, were all familiar to him. His father was adamant on him continuing the family business, running the family shop, the only shop on the island but Eren had dreams, dreams of leaving the lonely island and following them to his heart content.

If only he knew what his dreams were.

"Eren, stop slacking off. People are waiting" came the low rumble of his boss and captains voice from the helm, and sure enough there were a few cars piled up waiting patiently. He quickly grabbed his winter coat from the ground and waved for the cars to get on. Passengers walking on were grinning at Eren's ditziness.

"Up to no good, huh" called out a familiar voice. He looked up to see Armin clutching his laptop bag to his chest. Eren wanted to retort, but he had a job to do. He held up two fingers indicating that he would just be two minutes, Armin nodded and ducked into the waiting room.

Once he had finished billing people, he followed Armin into the waiting room, removing his beanie as he did so. Armin was leaning against the window staring at the water passing by as it rippled and waved. Eren made a small attempt of fixing his hair but soon gave up, remembering it would just be a mess the second he left the room again.

Armin noticed him and gave him a warm smile. Eren sometimes wondered how he was so lucky to have such a good friend. Armin was studying at Wall Rose University, a highly prestigious school in the city that he somehow got accepted into. He commuted everyday, because of his Grandfather who was ill. It was sad really, his Grandfather begged Armin to go and live in the city and start his life but Armin refused to leave the man who raised him, so they came to the compromise that Armin would make the daily commute.

Armin had his life so together, the second he left school he'd be guaranteed a job, Eren had no doubts. He was slightly envious of that.

"Sorry about that" he grinned sticking his tongue out. Armin shook his head, smiling.

"It's okay you were just doing your job, well kinda" Armin joked punching Eren in the shoulder lightly. Eren feigned pain, a bit over the top as Armin couldn't hurt a fly. He rubbed his shoulder and pouted.

"Ow Ar, you're vicious. Wait till I tell Mikasa" he whined, still pouting. He has no shame.

Armin snorts at that. "Go ahead, she'll probably just berate you about getting your life together"

Ouch. Low blow Armin. Armin picked up on that too, damn him and his genuisness.

"Sorry that was too much.. You know we just reaally want you to come to Uni with us" Armin said quietly, looking really upset. God, why is it fair that someone says something truly offensive to you but they somehow make you feel like the bad guy?

"It's okay Ar. When I know what I wanna do, you two will be the first to know" Eren said grinning brightly, trying to cheer up his sensitive friend. 

"We better, or well we'll have to kill you. Seriously" Armin said. Eren laughed nervously, then noticing Armin's very serious face, and he awkwardly coughed.

"Okay, okay I get it" Eren replied, hands up in surrender. Suddenly a bell was heard, telling people they had arrived. Armin collected his belongings and began to walk out. Eren followed him out, and began motioning for the cars, lane by lane, to exit.

"I'll cyah later Armin, tell Mika I said 'Haaaay'" Eren yelled with his hands cupping his mouth.

"I will!" Armin half yelled back, afraid of disturbing other passengers.

Eren watched his blonde friend leave, and secretly wished he were going with him.

He let out a deep sigh and sat down waiting for the boat to start moving again. At this time of the day, and this side of the water, they were no passengers because who would wanna come to the boring island of Shiganshina. He took a deep breath and let the air wash away his troubles, metaphorically of course. He was still deeply troubled.

Eren didn't want to stay here forever, despite his fathers demands and he certainly didn't want to moving backwards and forwards for the rest of his life on the ferry, because that hardly sounds progressive. Maybe he could pursue music? He had been told in high school that he had a unique voice? Nah, he probably wasn't good enough to break into the industry. Maybe art? Mikasa told him that Wall Rose had a fantastic Art department.. but then what career would come from that? Nothing.

Eren wanted to scream. Why was it so difficult everyone seemed to be moving on but Eren was quite literally stuck moving back and forth, thinking of something he'd like to do but then not pursuing it. What's wrong with him?

"Shut up Hanji, you're giving me a migrane. Yes I'm on the ferry" said a deep voice. "Mhm. Bye" 

Eren turned around to find the mysterious voice, to see a short man. He had black hair, with a kind of, I guess you'd call it a military style, undercut. It looked damn good. He was dressed smartly, black shirt with matching black slacks. He looked intimidating, which was weird considering how small he was.

Suddenly Eren felt underdressed, ripped jeans and a checkered shit with his beanie covering his messing mop of hair. Weird, cause he was on a ferry but if the ferry had a fashion contest this mysterious stranger would win it for sure. He nervously cleared his throat and approached the stranger.

"Single?" Eren mumbled the rest out of nervousness. The man turned to face him, and then looked up because of the height difference. Eren wanted to laugh but he contained it.

"Excuse me?" the man said with an unbelievably sexy smirk. "Tsk.. Kids these days are so damn blunt"

This confused Eren to a great extent, then suddenly realisation struck and noticed the misunderstanding. He felt his cheeks heat up.

"Single or return. As in a ticket. For the ferry. To get across, and if one wanted to get back-" Eren quickly began stuttering, being interrupted by Levi.

"Its okay brat, I was joking" the man said, his smirk still apparent. "A single please"

Eren nodded. "Comin right up, eh..."

"Levi" he finished off Eren's sentence.

"Levi" Eren repeated, testing the way it sounded on his tongue and quite frankly he loved it. Suddenly Eren felt a bit bold.

"Here for business or pleasure" Eren asked with a cheeky wink, grinning like a mad man.

Levi laughed at that and oh god did he want to hear that again. "Hopefully both" Levi replied, then left Eren standing there, mouth agape and blushing like a virgin.

Did life just get more interesting? Here's hoping.

 


	2. Come Out Of Your Shell

_The storm brewing matched the mood in the Yeager household. Mikasa had just received her acceptance letter from Wall Rose, much to the fury of Grisha. Carla attempted to console her husband while Eren watched the events unfold, unsure whether to be supportive of Mikasa and be happy she was accepted, or feel completely betrayed that she applied without him._

_"Dad, I can't and won't stay here forever. This is a huge opportunity and if you don't let me go I'll never forgive you" Mikasa spat angrily as she stood her ground. Grisha finished his drink and stood up slowly. Lightning struck, causing Eren to jump. Grisha slowly raised his empty glass and threw it narrowly missing Eren's head. He quickly scrambled out of the way, and released a yelp of surprise. Carla stood up, immediately rushing to Eren's side._

_"Grisha!" Carla screamed angrily. "Acting like this will only push them further away! Is that what you want!". She reached out to gently rub Eren's head, causing Eren to flinch. Shock was evident on her face._

_"I'm sorry baby" she whispered quietly._ _Mikasa was fuming. Never in his 18 years of life had Eren seen her like this. He was so used to her expressionless face, she was good at hiding her emotions but in that moment it's like everything she had ever felt had been released and was directed at Grisha._

_"That's it! I'm leaving!" she yelled as she rushed past the suprised Grisha. She returned seconds later, with a suitcase in tow. She left without looking back, she left without asking him to come with her. Did she even care? Leaving him with the potentially dangerous Grisha?_

_The door was left swinging because of the wind, neither open nor close. The rain masked the sounds of Carla's violent sobs as Grisha fell to his knees, regret spreading throughout every fibre of his body. Eren however, was in a state of complete shock._

_"Stay" he whispered as a single tear fell down his cheek, which was soon followed by a steady stream._

 

                                                                    *******************************************************************************************************

 

Eren's alarm brought him back to reality. He quickly checked his phone. It read 5:00 A.M, Saturday.

"Fuck" Eren groaned loudly, realising he forgot to turn off his alarm the night before. He had no work today, so no reason to be awake. Yet here he was. Might as well be productive. Eren let out a short puff of air, preparing him to get out of bed. One of life's most difficult tasks. He picked out a pair of simple skinny jeans, his favourite green cardigan with a simple grey shirt. He pulled his beanie over his head, because it was much easier than trying to tame the mane.

Picking up his backpack filled with his art supplies, he left his room. He grabbed his keys, and made his way to the beach which thankfully was only minutes from his house. A shiver ran down his spine causing him to curse, had he of known it was this cold he would of brought his old winter coat. Ah well, we have to learn to live with the mistakes we make. (Even though he could of easily went back to grab the coat).

He hummed as he made his way down the steep stairs that led to the beach. This beach was the one place he could escape to on this entire island, luckily during the winter it was practically empty so he could sit with his sketch book and forget his worries. So he did just that, finding the rock he always sat on. It was the perfect seat, wasn't too sharp to poke your ass and far enough away from the water to not get soaked.

Eren stared at his blank page, and found he had no inspiration. Usually he brought his phone to play some music, but of course had forgotten it today. Suddenly he remembered the good-looking stranger from the ferry. He remembered his jet-black hair, and how tempted he was to run his fingers through it- Okay stop Eren, you're being weird.

He quickly face palmed himself to stop that train of thought, and saw his previous blank page, now showcased a rough sketch of Levi's face. It was good. It was more than good, it was amazing but he felt somehow he missed out on some features. He hadn't studied the man's face thoroughly enough, which was a real shame as he'd probably never see him again. He face palmed himself again.

"Is that a usual occurrence with you? Just in case I need to call an ambulance because you gave yourself a concussion" someone suddenly said. Eren shrieked, throwing his sketch book to the side and diving face first into the cold sand.Then there was laughter. He remembered the sound of that laugh....Oh shit. Eren nervously looked up to see, would you of guessed, Levi. He quickly sat up trying to act like he hadn't just done what he had done.

 "You got a little- hmm, more like a lot of, sand in your hair. On your face too" Levi said with a small snort. Eren quickly shook his head like a dog trying to rid his head of the offensive sand, which he suddenly realised, had not been the smartest idea. Once he had stopped shaking his head free from the sand, Levi had gained some unwanted sand. Man, if looks could kill.

Eren couldn't help himself. He started sputtering laughter, to the point where he was breathless. Levi kneeled in front of Eren, his face dangerously close to him and seemingly getting closer by the second. It was safe to say Eren's manic laughter quickly turned into silence as he took a shaky breath. Levi gently grabbed Eren's shirt and Eren's breath hitched, and then suddenly Levi smirked madly causing Eren to raise a confused eyebrow. And then he was shrieking for the second time on that cold winter morning.

Levi had emptied a handful of sand down his shirt.

Eren stood abruptly, squirming like mad. He pulled of his cardigan, and quickly grabbed his shirt and pulling that too off his body. His chest was sure enough, covered in sand. He brushed himself off while shaking his shirt, this time avoiding Levi.

"Oh crap, I think you got some in my pants" Eren groaned loudly "How did that even happen, you jerk!”

"You're not gonna take your pants off too, are you? Just give a guy a heads up in advance" Levi said sarcastically. Eren gave him a horrified look.

"I most certainly am not taking my pants off,  _I_  have  _some_  dignity" Eren declared proudly. Levi just smirked and pointed to his bare chest.

"I can see that" he said. Eren pouted and quickly put his shirt back on, wondering why he ever took it off in the first place. It was winter for Christ's sake! He noticeably shivered because of his damp shirt. Levi, who was still sat on the ground, handed him his cardigan which Eren took gratefully, his teeth shattering.

"As amusing as it is to watch you suffer from your own stupidity, I really don't want to go to jail for killing a man" Levi said as he stood up shaking the sand from his butt. Suddenly Eren felt a blanket of warmth being wrapped around his shoulders. He looked up in confusion to see Levi had given up his coat for him. The realisation made him blush.

"Thanks" Eren whispered quietly as he buried himself into the warmth, then his curiosity peaked. He made his way back to his sitting stone, and patted next to him making room for Levi to join him. Thankfully he did so.

"What are you doing here anyway, I thought you were just visiting?" Eren asked, hoping he didn't sound rude for prying.

"Remember how I said 'single'? That was me talking about the boat, not my relationship status, so you'd think a 'single' would indicate I were staying, no?" Levi said his voice dripping with sarcasm. Eren pouted.

"Sorry, I'm new to the job. You could of been visiting, and easily gotten the boat back the next day for all I know" Eren replied quickly. Levi pondered this for a moment rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"True. Well to answer your question, I'm here for work" 

"What work? There are almost zero jobs available here, I would know?"

Levi sighed, just tapped his nose.

"Oh c'mon, just tell me." Eren whined, he bent down picking up a shell that sat directly next to his abandoned sketch book. He handed the shell to a very confused Levi.

"Come out of your shell, and tell me" Eren jokingly said, quite proud of his pun.

Levi gave him a look that read  _'Are you serious'_ which was followed by a small laugh, that Levi tried to hide by covering his mouth with his hand but Eren saw.

"Hmm" Eren looked at him with a hopeful expression; Levi looked directly into his eyes, and sighed. "Don't feel like it"

Eren was offended. "How can you resist these puppy eyes?" Eren demanded to know shaking Levi's arm, not used to not getting his way with these charming eyes of his.

"You're like a child, I swear" he said laughing.

"I'll have you know, I'm 19! I'm an adult so you can shut it!" Eren said, followed by sticking his tongue out.

" _Adult_ " Levi's sarcasm was obvious. Eren was about to get pissed off, but stopped himself before he scared him away.

"Oh, I'm Eren by the way. Eren Yeager" Eren said with a huge grin. Levi nodded in response. They sat in silence but it was surprisingly not awkward. They just stared at the ocean.

After what felt like 10 minutes of silence, Levi stood up abruptly. Eren gave him a confused look.

"I have to get some work done, I better go" he explained. Eren nodded understanding. He too stood up, removing Levi's winter coat from around his shoulders, then shivered as soon as it was gone. Levi accepted it, holding it in his hand.

"You can have it, I feel like you might be here awhile" Levi said pointing to the sketch book. Eren felt a wave of joy crash over him.

"That's really nice of you" Eren smiled happily accepting the coat that was handed to him once again. "But how will I return it?" 

"Like you said, it's a small island. I'm sure I'll see you again." Levi said as he begun to walk away.

 

"Wait!" Eren yelled at the top of his lungs, Levi turned around expectantly with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you work as?" Eren asked attempting his luck. Levi scoffed and continued walking.

"Oh, please!" Eren whined loudly. It was pathetic, he knew that but he couldn't find it in himself to give a shit. Levi kept walking, only giving him a wave in response.

Eren picked up his sketch book, and dropped himself in a slump on his rock. He skipped to his latest piece of work, and quickly filled in everything he had missed. Shading in the eyes to make them steel grey just as they were in person. He added in the almost not noticeable bags under his eyes, something that strangely suited him. He erased the eyebrows he had previously drawn and replaced them to resemble the real thing. He brushed away the erasing’s, and to his horror smudged the lead.

"Fuck!" Eren yelled angrily, his cursing muffled by the wind as he grieved what had been his best piece ever. He sighed heavily as he packed up his belongings, to return home and watch trash TV. What? He was very emotional now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHAA updated this, forgot to add a new note LOL professional AF.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the small glimpse of backstory, and I'm aware it's a short chapter but gimmie a break I'm sick and tired and on my period. STRUGGLES ARE REAAL.
> 
> Also had nect to no food today, because of my sore throat and can't swallow anything. (That's what she said)
> 
> HOPE YOU ENJOYYYYYEEED <3

**Author's Note:**

> I GOT INSPIRED TO WRITE THIS BECAUSE TODAY I WAS ON A FERRY AND I SAW THIS GUY WHO HAD A BEANIE ON AND I WAS LIKE HOLY SHIT EREN YEAGER AND THUS THIS WAS BORN
> 
> This is really short because it was kate when I wrote it and I had a pounding headache but I needed to write this down before I lost inspiration.  
> This is different for me because usually I write in first POV and not third, so exciting. And I usually keep my writing kinda light hearted and funny I'd like to think but this story will be different hope it's okay
> 
> (Update: HOLY SHIT THE AMOUNT OF TYPOS I APOLOGISE GOOD PEOPLE)


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